PICTON PLAY was a largescale two-year creative engagement project working with the neighbourhood surrounding Metal Liverpool’s base at Edge Hill Station. We brought together artists, community organisers, young people and other curious residents to celebrate the existing creativity in our neighbourhood and explore new ways of getting together through play.
It was a dream project for Metal, bringing together a methodology that had been developed over 20 years working in the local neighbourhood.
Designed over three phases, the project explores the importance of play – even more so in difficult times – and the unique culture and creativity in Picton.
LISTENING
PICTON PLAY’s first phase LISTENING involved hosting artists in unexpected places in our neighbourhood with residencies, pop-up events and commissions. We engaged with the local community in incidental social spaces, from Nicki McCubbing’s observations on the 86 bus to socialising in the carpark of Smithdown Road’s ASDA as part of Josh Coates’ pop-up community space. Andrea Ku’s project ‘Dens of Sanctuary’ activated a local underused outdoor space, Wavertree Botanic Park, celebrating the joy of den-building and walks out in nature with an intergenerational group of residents.
These ‘listening’ residencies invited artists to exchange knowledge with residents about the local area and its creative people, initiatives and places to go whilst making new connections around the themes of play, sharing, joy and celebration.
GATHERING
GATHERING involved sharing what we uncovered during the LISTENING phase of the project through shared meals, conversations, social media campaigns and open invitations for participation. This helped feed into our ideas for the final CELEBRATION phase, and built new community partnerships. We invited people to look at the streets, buildings and public spaces they see every day in a different light.
CELEBRATING
The final phase involved CELEBRATING via a series of temporary installations and interventions including art trail tours, public talks, and a heritage display along Wavertree High Street in September 2025 accompanied by a publication, ‘Stories, Mystery and Love’ a set of short stories from three acclaimed writers, Sophie Herxheimer, Hanan Issa, and Joelle Taylor. Over 12,000 copies were distributed to every household in the L15 postcode. The programme was shaped by the people and the knowledge gained in earlier stages of Picton Play and was focused on elements of time and love, leading to an extraordinary moment of creativity in our neighbourhood.
A little bit more about our process…
Citizen-Decision Making
Mystery Dreamers
The Mystery Dreamers were a group of 10 local residents we invited to come together to help shape the final celebration event for Picton Play. Over 9 months the group met, and discussed over food, the mysteries of Picton, the creativity that exists and how we could bring people together to create something memorable for the neighbourhood. The group supported the artists who were involved in the final stage of Picton Play, they helped make connections to the community and provided inspiration for their ideas. Inspired by the theme of Mystery, the well-known name of our local park, this was a pilot to help Metal explore the role of citizen decision making in our organisation.
Mystery Makers
In the lead up to the final celebration event we worked with four local artists and local community groups to develop new work inspired by the themes explored in the book ‘Stories, Mystery and Love’. Phoebe McSweeney worked with Asylum Link. Dan Astles worked with Capeesh, at Harthill youth club. PJ Smith worked with residents of Damien John Kelly house. Ali Harwood worked with year 5 pupils from St Hugh’s Primary School. Alongside making their own artwork the groups created content for the Picton Play soundwalk and came up with the phrases for the Make Time For Love Clocks installed on Wavertree High St:
Make time for dancing
Make time for unity
Make time to share
Make time to show up
Residency Programme
Listening Residency | Nicki McCubbing | 86 Bus
Artist Nicki McCubbing was in residence on the Smithdown road stretch of the Arriva 86 bus route. Gathering inspiration from frequent commutes, Nicki produced The 86 book, a love-letter to the quirkiness and uniqueness of the renowned Liverpool bus route, capturing the beauty found in everyday interactions, ranging from solemn moments stowed away on smartphones to performative socialising in cramped environments. Presented in partnership with Arriva, Nicki’s residency and book collected observations, stories and glimmers of humanity experienced through community connection.
We launched Nicki’s book in October 2024, joined by local singer-songwriter Claire Welles, as well as Sonic Yootha’s DJ John Aggy.
Listening Residency | Andrea Ku | Wavertree Botanic Park
Artist and environmentalist Andrea Ku was in residence at the Wavertree Botanic Park and gardens, a grade II listed Victorian park founded by Liverpool botanist and abolitionist William Roscoe. Offering children and adults an opportunity to climb, build and play outdoors, Andrea’s ‘Dens of Sanctuary’ project engaged with local frustrations about the park – mainly years of neglect – by setting up forest play activities, leading nature walks and sharing skills for building outdoor shelters using wood found in the park.
Andrea’s residency in collaboration with Friends of Wavertree Botantic Park re-enchanted this local forgotten green space as a site for play and as fertile ground for her artistic practice. Andrea shared ideas to revamp the park’s signage to be multilingual, inspired by the nearby Asylum Link and its migrant community, making the space more welcoming to all individuals who may lack private access to an outdoor garden.
“It was a pleasure to deliver the den building sessions with the local community at Botanic Park. It was wonderful to see the joy on each adult and child’s face to be involved within the natural materials to create a habitat within a safe space. I have been overwhelmed by the creations made which still stand a month on and are now being woven into the overall park landscape.” – Andrea Ku
Car Free Day | Interactive workshops with Laura-Kate Draws | Love Wavertree
Combining art and nature is something we’ve been doing lots of through PICTON PLAY. In September 2024, we joined Love Wavertree’s Car Free Day on the Wavertree High Street to highlight emission-free transport envisioning a more sustainable future. Inviting locals passing by to an interactive workshop, we dreamt up imagining public spaces that are as exciting as they are accessible and sustainable. Discussions celebrated hopes for more colour and smiles in Wavertree, including having a playful mascot, “Stella the Cat with a wind-powered tail”, desires for “water fountains to refill your reusable bottle” and “planting potatoes in the potholes. Artists Laura-Kate Draws breathed life into these visions through illustration.
Listening Residency | Josh Coates | ‘Big’ Asda carpark
To kick of the PICTON PLAY listening residencies in September 2023, artist and organiser Josh Coates created a pop-up community space in Smithdown Asda car park. Across Josh’s three week residency, he uncovered memories of the community and spaces of significance, with people coming along to share their desire for social spaces to connect and celebrate together. Over cups of tea in the car park, people shared a need for venues for disco, birthday parties, games, cooking and craft activities, as well as a love for music and storytelling. Watch our film exploring Josh’s residency here.
“Time is something we all need more of – time to listen, share and connect.” – Community member, taken from Josh Coates’ Listening Residency, ASDA Smithdown Road
Neighbourhood Tapestry | Victoria Opomu & schoolchildren from Edge Hill, Wavertree and Toxteth | Tate Liverpool
Engaging with Picton’s next generation, artist Victoria Opomu’s residency hosted at Smithdown Primary and pop-up printing space at Loving Lodge Lane, invited students to explore their experiences of growing up in Edge Hill, Wavertree and Toxteth in summer 2023. The exhibition at Tate Liverpool curated by the young people included stories contained in objects that hold significance to the students and their families, a self-portrait wall and large-scale printed landscapes of neighbourhood locations. Objects shared included football boots, birthday meals at local restaurants and even a hot air balloon! Students shared insightful commentary on the larger-than-life landmarks defining Picton within their imagination, such as the Kuumba Imani Centre and Princes Park gates. You can learn more about this project here.
Liverpool Hip Hop Festival Residency
Celebrating the 50th anniversary of Hip Hop music, Nikki Blaze and Tony Broke, founders of the Liverpool Hip Hop Festival mentored 11 local young people through their residency, sparking the minds and building the confidence of an upcoming generation of lyricists, performers and producers through hands-on experience. Hosted at local youth and community hub Firefit, alongside Capeesh, a youth development project for learning skills through making music, Nikki and Tony’s graffiti art and beatboxing classes were joined by MC Blue Saint, DJ Rasp and Sugar Jill teaching lyric writing, scratching and breakin’.
This is part of Culture Liverpool’s Creative Neighbourhoods programme with Liverpool City Council. Thank you to Asda, Friends at Botanic Park and Arriva for partnerships that supported our Listening Residencies.
